


Trick or Treat

by sokikuro



Series: Pumpkin Day [2]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Gen, Trust Issues, also a small panic attack, he has anxiety, kid isn't in the best state of mind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-13 21:33:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16480148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sokikuro/pseuds/sokikuro
Summary: Kaito is convinced that thieves and detectives can't be friends. He stupidly tries to make it happen anyway. Even if it scares him.





	Trick or Treat

**Author's Note:**

> This is not beta read. But I wanted to post it today :'D

It would be way too easy, he knew from experience. A matter of three minutes – if he played it absolutely save. He could do it in under one. The neighborhood was quite, no one would see him. There wasn’t even any security except for a closed gate and high walls - nothing that could stop him. The lock could be picked in a few seconds; climbing a tree a few meters ahead would be way faster, the following jump of the wall would be the only risk of injury, but a small one. On the other side another tree would await straight ahead, its branches would lead right to a window. And in he would be.

Easy.

Instead he rang the bell.

Kaito regretted his decision immediately. Now he would have to wait. He was good at waiting. But there was waiting and _waiting_. He didn’t like this kind of waiting. It made him jittery - the anxiety slowly crawling up his spine to choke him.

Has he made the right decision? Should he have come earlier or later? Should he have come at all? Should he have brought a gift? It would have been the polite thing to do. He had his flowers. Did he have enough of his flowers? Should he check? What if he did?

At the sound of the gate being buzzed open Kaito nearly jumped and instantly hoped his posture looked relaxed and calm, despite him feeling the opposite of it.

Has he made the right choice?

The front door opened. The first thing his mind registered was a steaming mug. His gaze went down. No soccer ball in sight. He counted this as a positive sign. He let his gaze wander back up. The owner was leaning against the doorframe in a nonchalant fashion, sipping from his mug and staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

Kaito could feel the anxiety slowly crawling up again. His mind screamed at him to get the hell out of here as long as he still could. Plans be damned. What once worked out hadn’t to a second time.

Especially not with this person. This detective.

Kudo Shinichi was unpredictable, an enigma to him like he himself was to the world, with maybe one exception.

Cautiously, Kaito entered the property, gripping the some bombs inside his pockets tightly. He couldn’t run away yet, no matter what his mind insisted.

 It felt strange, like a trap but not. Once again Kaito questioned his decision to forego a disguise. He was only wearing his favorite cap to hide some of his features. On the other hand the last time they’ve met the detective hadn’t done anything to betray his trust. They again, he had been awfully tired back then. Kaito still felt a bit bad for being selfish and dragging the detective around all day.

Kudo had seemed to like their outing, though.

Maybe.

The detective’s expression turned thoughtful. He uncrossed his arms and shoved one of his hands inside his back pocket.

Kaito ceased all movement. He could feel his back muscles tensing.

 “I’m still having breakfast. Close the door behind you,” Kudo simply stated before he turned on his heel and left Kaito to mentally gape after him.

Kaito blinked a few times before he took a deep breath and tried to relax his muscles. All the while he was cursing himself. Of course the detective had seen right through his calm exterior.

He really needed to get it together.

The Kudo-mansion looked and felt still the same – old and lonely. It somehow saddened Kaito and reminded him that they at least had one thing in common – distant parents.

“Do you want coffee?”

Kaito shook his head. His eyes darted around the room, taking in every corner and possible hiding spots for, at least to him, unwanted company or surveillance equipment. “Not to be rude my dear detective-”

“Shinichi.”

Embarrassingly, Kaito shuffled on his feet and moved his mouth a few times in a silent war to choke out the simple question, “What?”

Kudo scrutinized him carefully. Kaito could feel a drop of sweat slowly sliding down his neck. “I distinctly remember telling you that we are friends.”

“Should you really be so familiar with a criminal?” The question has been nagging at him for months now.

Kudo gave him one of his deadpan looks. “You’re the least threatening criminal I know.” Once again he turned his back to him and by the looks of it prepared some tea.

Kaito let the words sink in for a moment. “I’m pretty threatening if I want to be. Also, I’m still a criminal.”

“A harmless one.”

“I know a few people who would disagree.” Especially someone blond and British, who also should be classified as a stalker - at least in Kaito’s humble opinion.

“You don’t murder people.”

“Your bar is frighteningly low.”

“Sit down already.”

Kaito did just that and took in more of the kitchen. It wasn’t exactly untidy. There were a few plates and mugs that could use a wash but they were stacked neatly on top of each other. The floor could use some cleaning from dust but there were no stains or trash lying around. In Kaito’s opinion the kitchen felt used instead of homey.

His focus wandered to the table. There was no food left. A newspaper was opened. A blurred picture of himself stared back at him. An article about last night’s heist. His ears were still ringing from Inspector Nakamori’s yelling. How he had missed it.

Kudo sat down in front of him and placed a cup of tea between them. “You were pretty tense.”

Kaito reached for the tea. He should have known that the detective had noticed. He never seemed to be able to hide anything from him. “It’s been a long time.”

Kudo snorted. “Are you telling me you had stage fright?”

“Something like that.” He didn’t feel like elaborating and felt that the detective understood anyway. “You allied yourself with that brick.” He was still miffed about that.

“Hakuba isn’t all that bad.” Kudo smirked at him. “At least I stopped him from hitting on you.”

Kaito actually had to laugh at that. “And I thank you for that kind sir.” Instinctively he let a hydrangea appear in his hand.

Kudo took it. “‘Thank you for understanding.’ Do you have flowers for every occasion?”

“I’m always prepared.” He shoot him one of his grins.

The detective’s smirk softened into a smile. “I guess you are.” He sipped on his coffee. “Was yesterday’s heist really necessary, though?”

Kaito placed the flower carefully on the table and played with its stem. He could feel Kudo watching him closely. “You love my heists.”

“True.”

Kaito leaned back and finally met the detective’s gaze head on. “It’s not every day that a detective publishes cryptic messages all over the internet to simply invite me to their home.”

“So, you wanted to gauge my true intentions?” Kaito shrugged with his shoulders. “Fair enough.” He took another sip from his coffee. “Go check out the rest of the house.”

Kaito stayed rooted to his chair.

“Go already.”

The detective, no, Shinichi didn’t have to tell him again.

X

“Take a knife and help me.”

“So, this is a literal pumpkin day?”

Shinichi rolled his eyes at him. “I repeat: you’re an idiot. Now grab that knife and get working.”

Kaito rolled up his sleeves and did as he was told.

For a while they worked in comfortable silence, only interrupted by the occasional instruction on how to scoop out the pulp and what to do with it and the seeds. Between them they hollowed out twenty pumpkins.

“You really are just using me, aren’t you?” Kaito massaged his hands.

Shinichi copied his motions. “What are friends for?”

“Why do you need all these pumpkins anyway?”

“Sonoko is throwing a Halloween party tonight.”

“And she can’t just buy them?”

“I offered.”

Kaito hummed at that. He has never understood the strange friendship between the detective and the heiress. They always seem antagonistic towards each other and yet they did everything for each other.

“How do you feel about soup?”

Kaito blinked a few times. “Sounds great.”

He watched the detective work. One of his fingers was tapping the tabletop. Shinichi moved with effectiveness. He seemed completely unbothered by Kaito’s presence right behind him. He didn’t turn around or watched over his shoulder even once.

Kaito didn’t know how to feel about that.

Were they really friends?

Surely, if this has been a trap he would already be inside a police station.

Or maybe the detective was waiting for him to feel save.

But the house was free of bugs and unwanted company.

The detective could send out a signal with his phone, though.

Maybe he should steal it.

Shinichi did trust him back then, so maybe Kaito should give him the same courtesy.

Wasn’t he the one who selfishly sought out friendship with a detective?

If anything Shinichi should be the mistrustful one.

Why had he even reached out to him?

“Here.” Kaito flinched with his whole body. His breathing grew erratic. This had been a bad idea. Why had he thought that this, all of this, had been a good idea? Detectives and thieves were enemies. Just because he had felt a little lonely-

He had managed the past months-

He-

“That’s it. In and out.” Slowly Kaito became aware of the hand rubbing his back in a steady manner. He blinked his eyes open and noticed that he now sat hunched over, his head between his knees and his arms wrapped around it.

Kaito could feel his cheeks heating up.

“Kaito, I’m going to stand up and move away, alright?”

Every muscle in his body tensed. “Wha- what did you just call me?”

“You told me to call you that, remember?”

Kaito paused at that. He had told him that, hadn’t he? It had been such a stupid move. Shinichi was right. He was an idiot, a complete and utter fool. And because of his freaking out right now the detective would figure it out.

Why did he go and try to befriend this detective of all the detectives out there?

Why did he have to react on impulse back then?

“Your parents named you Kaito?” The voice of the detective was so full of incredulity that Kaito couldn’t help but snort. Distantly, he noted that he would be full on laughing if he wasn’t freaking out so much.

“My dad liked puns.”

After that little exchange they kept quiet. Strangely, it had a calming effect on Kaito or maybe that was just the hand still stroking his back. It gave him something to focus on other than his own doubts.

“Do you regret spending my birthday with me?” Shinichi’s voice was quieter now, almost absentmindedly, Kaito could barely make out the words.

“So, you did figure it out.”

“I was pretty tired that day.”

“I remember.”

“Do you also remember me saying ‘no take-backs’?”

“You just didn’t want to spend time with your parents.”

The stroking motion halted. Kaito instantly tensed up again. “Okay. Now you listen to me, you stupid thief. I never do things that I don’t want and I _never_ say things that I don’t mean. I _like_ spending time with you. I _like_ your heists. You’re fun. You _are_ a good person. And I’m _happy_ to be your friend.

“Now eat your soup before it gets cold.”

Kaito needed a while to uncurl himself and do what he was told. He seemed to do a lot of following orders today.

Silence once again reigned over them while they ate.

X

Kaito took the offered plate and dried it methodically. “I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

“I ruined the mood.”

Suddenly, Kaito was splashed full with water. He stopped drying and slowly turned his head towards Shinichi.

“I nearly caught you yesterday.” He splashed him again. “I’m actually amazed you showed up at all.” Another splash. “Or that you were willing to try and trust me.”

“I did search your house.”

“Only after I told you to.” The splash following the statement was too much for Kaito to take and so he retaliated.

Half an hour later the two found themselves sitting beside each other and laughing heartily. Kaito even had to hold his own stomach. They were a mess as was the kitchen. It was a wonder that the pumpkins had stayed unscathed.

“Great now I need a shower.”

“You started it.” Shinichi hid him weakly. “Do you at least have a change of clothes this time around?”

Shinichi shoved his arm until Kaito fell sideways. “Shut up. Knowing you it wouldn’t matter anyway.”

Kaito couldn’t deny that fact

X

“Are you seriously carving a Kid doodle?”

“She is my biggest fan.”

Kaito grinned freely. They both were showered and the kitchen crudely cleaned.

Shinichi snorted and shook his head before suddenly freezing and snapping his head up. Kaito nearly took a step back. “Can you make caricatures in your doodle style for Sonoko’s and Ran’s face as well?”

Kaito nodded slowly. “Sure. Anybody else?”

“Hattori, Toyama and of course Kyogoku.”

“The kids as well?” Shinichi almost glowed in excitement or rather Kaito didn’t know how else to describe the others expression.

While Kaito carved the pumpkins, adding the faces of Shinichi and all the Suzukis to the list, they talked about Kaito’s adventures reminiscent to their last outing. But this time Shinichi shared a few of his own.

“You can’t really blame them. They learnt from you.”

Shinichi crossed his arms on the tabletop and turned his head away in a pout. “Haibara could try being a better influence.”

“Or you could guide them better.” Shinichi flicked a seed at him. “What is it with you and using me as target practice?” His only answer was a smirk.

X

“You’re seriously going as Holmes?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because Sonoko will be annoyed.”

Kaito really didn’t get their strange friendship. “May I make a suggestion?”

X

They looked eerily similar like this, Kaito mused. It gave him one or two ideas to prank a certain Brit. Maybe one day he would be able to convince Shinichi to help him.

“Wait a moment.” He snapped with his fingers and his monocle adorned Shinichi’s eye. “Now you look perfect.”

“I look like an inverted version of you.”

“Exactly. Hakuba will hate it.” And if he couldn’t prank the prick he would at least have this. “Why was he even invited? Suzuki-chan has better taste, normally.”

Shinichi adjusted his tie. “Apparently their families are friends.”

Kaito made a gagging noise and shuddered.

X

“Thank you for helping me.”

Kaito waved over his shoulder. “See you~”

“Kaito!” Hearing his name he paused and turned halfway around. Shinichi looked determined. “We are friends. Don’t bail an me again.”

Kaito hummed. “A lowly thief and a detective?"

“How about Kaito and Shinichi?”

Kaito could feel a small smile forming on his lips. He was still unsure about this. But this was what he has wanted, wasn’t it? A friend. Someone who could understand him.

And maybe this time he could even belief in the detective’s, Shinichi’s words. He bridged the distance between them and pulled a bluebell out of his sleeve.

“Always prepared, huh.”

“Always.” A grin stretched over his face and if it wasn’t as sharp as his usual one only one person would notice anyway.

X

Later that night sweaty hand would grip a phone tightly.

_‘Thanks for not tricking me and instead treating me.’_

_‘You’re an idiot.’_

**Author's Note:**

> Bluebells = gratitude


End file.
